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Should governments allow tourists in space?

May 08, 2001

California millionaire Dennis Tito has become the world's first space tourist. He recently blasted off on a Russian rocket and headed to the international space station. Tito paid Russian space officials $20 million for this adventure.

NASA opposed Tito's trip. The U.S. space agency said it's dangerous to have tourists in space, because tourists don't have astronauts' training.

Ellen Fishman's 5th-grade class at Kildeer Elementary School in Long Grove takes on today's question:

Should governments allow tourists in space?

NO "Dennis Tito is not trained to be an astronaut. He may cause confusion or mess up and cause the astronauts to get hurt." -- Steven B.

NO "If tourists go in space, then space might turn into another tourist attraction. Besides, only millionaires and billionaires could go in space anyway!" --Collen C.

YES "Some people might really want to go to space but don't want to be an astronaut. This way, tourists can have a chance to explore space. If you train the tourists with the right skills and tools, they would know what to do. Maybe one day astronauts might even build a sky resort."

--Genevieve F.

NO "Tourists could be trained, but that would take years. If the shuttle had some problems, it could blow up. Training can't stop that, can it? Also, it would take a lot of money to go in space, so it won't be fair for only the rich to go, would it?"

--Alex G.

YES "If they put their life on the line, it's their fault if they get hurt or not." --Amanda G.

YES "They have no idea what they're doing. It's like having a 12-year-old drive a car."

--Chris J.

NO "Tourists could get sick. They could break something. They could not help the astronauts if there is an emergency. They could be spies."

-- Peter M.

YES "They would be traveling with trained astronauts. People that really want to go in space should know the dangers and the risks they could encounter. Also, the great amount of money that tourists are willing to pay to travel in space would be additional income." --Scott M.

NO "Mr. Tito is very rich, and we don't want a special person to die." --Gianna N.

YES "They also should be regular people, not millionaires. They should be trained and should have the supplies they would need." --Rachel R.

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